But Sigmon is hesitant to choose lethal injection because witnesses to the three previous executions since the state moved to using a massive dose of pentobarbital have said that even though the condemned prisoners appeared to stop breathing and moving in a few minutes, they were not declared dead for at least 20 minutes.
A condemned man who is the next person scheduled to be put to death in South Carolina is again asking for his execution date be postponed because his lawyers have not received the autopsy report from the last execution two weeks ago.
Prison officials have not said why Moore needed a second massive dose or whether that is part of their normal procedures, citing a 2023 law that keeps secret the providers of lethal injection drugs, the identities of members of execution teams and the procedures used.
But another anesthesiologist who reviewed the autopsy for the state said fluid is often found in the lungs after a lethal injection and witness accounts and other evidence gave no indication that Moore was conscious beyond 30 seconds after the sedative was first administered.
Sigmon's lawyers are asking for more information about the lethal injection drug — a request rejected before the previous three executions.
